Wireless mobile telephones, also referred to as a cellular telephones, have become exceedingly popular communication devices. The vast majority of mobile telephones contain a transceiver (e.g., a radio frequency, or RF, transceiver) for establishing a communication link with a remote location, such as a cell phone tower. In order to carry out a conversation with another person using the mobile telephone, the user must hold the telephone adjacent the ear and mouth of the user. This presents the disadvantage of occupying the use of at least one of the user's hands. In many situations, hands free use of the mobile telephone is desirable. The same is true for receivers, or handsets, found in hard-wired telephone systems. For example, the user of a hard-wired telephone system may wish to type on a computer while speaking on the phone. In addition, medical professionals and others have expressed concerns relating to the health of mobile telephone users who engage in prolonged use of an RF transceiver adjacent their head.
There are many commercially available “handsfree” headsets available to users of wireless and/or hard-wired telephone systems. These headsets are intended to assist the user in carrying out a conversation without the use of the user's hands and to locate the telephone away from the user's head. These headsets typically include an ear piece containing a speaker. The ear piece can be removably placed with respect to the user's ear and broadcasts sounds to the user's ear. The headsets also typically include a microphone disposed on a support member that positions the microphone with respect to the user's mouth. The microphone is used to detect speech and other vocalizations emanating from the mouth of the user. The detected sounds are converted into an electrical signal and transmitted by the telephone to a backbone telecommunications network and onto the telephone of another person. In this manner, the user can carry out a fully duplexed conversation with the other person.
However, the headsets can be cumbersome to use. More particularly, care must be taken to ensure that the microphone is properly positioned and that the microphone maintains that position. The need to adjust the headset during a conversation can be distracting to the user. In addition, improper positioning of the microphone may lead to poor and/or unreliable detection of the user's speech. This problem is compounded by the common occurrence of the microphone detecting environmental noise, such as the sound of a passing vehicle, conversations taking place near the user, and the like. The detected environmental noise is ultimately transmitted by the telephone.
Some headsets have suffered from unacceptable levels of feedback from the speaker to the microphone. In addition, many headsets continue to detect a relatively high amount environmental noise. Electrical circuitry has been employed to address the feedback and/or suppress environmental noise to improve headset performance, but the electrical circuitry often requires a power source and adds complexity and cost to the headset.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an easy to use earset assembly that adequately detects the user's speech and/or other sounds from the user's ear while minimizing the effects of environmental noise and/or feedback from a speaker.